PETS: Can a solution be found that will keep landlords and tenants happy?

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Key figures from the world of landlords and pets have sat down to begin thrashing out a solution to the current ‘pets in lets’ conundrum vexing the sector.

Organised by tech platform The Lettings Hub, the inaugural meeting kicked off by highlighting the key challenge that needs to be met, namely that while 82% of tenants want to rent with their pet, 35% of landlords actively ban pets from their properties.

To find a solution, the working group is now preparing several more sessions which will look at the different options on the table, although the most likely will be some sort of insurance, most probably taken out by the tenant.

This first meeting was attended by representatives from campaigning group AdvoCATS, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, several letting agencies from across the UK, trade association Propertymark, insurance underwriters, the Property Redress Scheme and tech firm Inventory Hive.

Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “We have been warning for some time that the unintended consequences of the Tenant Fees Act have reduced the appetite for many landlords to take on the greater risk of damage.”

Heidi Shackell (pictured) CEO of The Lettings Hub said “Pets are an emotive subject for both landlords and tenants, at The Lettings Hub we are committed to delivering solutions and products which support and protect all parties.

“Collaborating with experts across the lettings and pets’ sectors allows us to truly understand how these changes are set to impact our customers and allow us to develop a holistic resolution.”

Sean Hooker (pictured) Head of Redress at The PRS, adds: “Tenants rightly don’t want to feel discriminated against for wanting to have a pet, however landlords should feel they are protected.

“The challenge is how to deliver this in a satisfactory and cost-effective way and gathering the experts into one room is a fantastic start!”

Landlords wishing to take part should email Jessica.langley@lettingshub.co.uk

View Full Article: PETS: Can a solution be found that will keep landlords and tenants happy?

Interview: ‘Why good private landlords shouldn’t fear more regulation’

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A leading letting agent in Wales has told LandlordZONE that the additional regulation of landlords in his country, which is due to tighten even further later this year, has not been the disaster that many predicted.

Since the end of November 2015 landlords and their properties have had to be registered and, if they self-manage a property in any way, licensed as well.

Soon landlords will face new measures being introduced on December 1st by the Welsh Government, including six-month notice periods prior to an eviction process starting; a whole new lexicon (e.g. ‘contract holders’ rather than ‘tenants’); and being prevented from enacting break clauses during the first 18 months of a tenancy.

But Ricky Purdy (main picture) of Swansea-based agency Dawsons Property says that despite this blitz of new regulation, and higher stamp duty for landlords, the biggest reason for his clients leaving the sector has been rising prices leading many to cash-in and the looming EPC upgrade challenges due in 2025 and 2028.

“I’m all for landlords in Wales deciding to sell their properties or downsize their portfolios if they think that’s the best outcome for them given the current – and the own – circumstances, but there’s a lot of scare-mongering headlines out there right now and it’s making them focus on worst-case scenarios,” he says.

“We try and work with our landlords to offer up solutions such as re-financing and/or restructuring their portfolios, in general focussing on the positives rather than getting rattled by the potential negatives.”

Purdy says the changes have affected landlords with just one or two properties more, while the more ‘purposeful’ professional landlords with large portfolios have taken the changes in their stride.

New legislation

“I understand what the Welsh Government is trying to do with the new legislation,” says Purdy.

“It’s not a ‘levelling up’ thing in my mind but just the Government making renting fairer for tenants, and in return making it quicker and easier to evict the bad, bad, rogue tenants, as England is planning to do as well.

“The biggest headache for landlords and agents alike is the paperwork needed to transfer everything over to the new rules, but I also get that some landlords are frustrated that after December 1^st tenants will be able to move around willy nilly, but landlords will have to wait six months or longer before they can ask a tenant move out.

“We’re in uncharted territory really. But I think landlords on both sides of the border are just going to have to accept these changes and get on with it and do the legwork to make it work – but I can understand it will persuade some of them to leave or slim down their exposure to the sector.”

View Full Article: Interview: ‘Why good private landlords shouldn’t fear more regulation’

Welsh landlord’s attempt to evict tenants sparks national debate over PRS changes

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A landlord has been unwittingly drawn into a heated debate over the looming changes to the Welsh private rented sector.

The country’s Government recently delayed its planned reforms that will alter how tenancies, properties and evictions are managed, similar in many ways to the planned changes within England set out in the Westminster government’s Fairer Renting White Paper recently. Due to go live in July, the Welsh measures within the Renting Homes (Wales) Act will now become law in December.

The saga kicked off after ITV ran a news piece over the weekend highlighting the case of a couple facing eviction from their home in Rumney, Cardiff.

After ten years spent living at the address where they paid £630 a month in rent Kathryn and Michael Wakeham (main picture) – both of whom are involved in local charitable endeavours including volunteering at a food bank – have been asked to leave the property after their landlord decided to sell up.

Affordable home

The couple now face an uphill battle to find an affordable home of the same size on the area, where rents for semi-detached houses similar to theirs are now £1,000 or more.

Although their case has generated headlines all over the UK and even overseas, with many commentators accusing the landlords of ‘throwing them out’, the letting agent which manages the property, James Douglas Sales and Lettings, has a different story to tell.

The firm’s General Manager Sarah Evans told ITV that many other landlords in the area were selling their properties or considering doing so following recent increases in Welsh landlord taxation and the looming Renting Home Act.

It will swing the balance of power very much more towards tenants, including lengthening notice periods to a statutory six months.

“This has resulted in more rental properties being sold and increased rents as landlords try to recover their rising costs,” says Evans (pictured).

“Partly as a result of this reducing stock, we are seeing the highest tenant demand on record due to the lack of supply.

“Unless the Welsh Government looks to mitigate this in some way this is clearly going to be a continuing trend.”

Pic credit: ITV

View Full Article: Welsh landlord’s attempt to evict tenants sparks national debate over PRS changes

Voids hit record low – but rents hit record high

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We didn’t just see record-breaking temperatures in July, there was also a surge in high-value student lets to help average rental costs and void periods to break records, according to Goodlord’s latest rental index.

The figures show that the lettings market continues to gather steam and

View Full Article: Voids hit record low – but rents hit record high

Tenth monthly house price rise keeps growth in double digits

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Despite the UK’s cost of living crisis, lower affordability and high inflation, annual house prices reached double-digit growth in July, Nationwide has revealed.

However, one leading estate agent is predicting that the figures are pointing to an ‘apocalyptic

View Full Article: Tenth monthly house price rise keeps growth in double digits

BTL lenders asking for EPC C or above?

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Just a heads up for everyone – I’ve recently remortgaged to fixed rate products due to the continual increase of the Bank of England Base Rate and, no doubt more to come on the 4th of August!

In every instance

View Full Article: BTL lenders asking for EPC C or above?

BREAKING: House prices rise for 12th month in a row to annual rate of 11%

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The Nationwide has recorded a ‘surprising’ 12^th consecutive rise in house prices, maintaining the year-on-year figure in double-digit territory.

Its index reveals that house prices increased by 0.1% last month, pushing annual house price inflation to 11% and the average price to £271,613.

Although the increase is small and price rises are slowing, the continuing imbalance between supply and demand will lead many experts to predict that such a large annual rise may lead to more landlords to quit the market as some cash-in on the equity sitting in their properties.

But Savills says this may be offset by new investors entering the buy-to-let market looking for an alternative to stock market volatility for their cash – although the current stock shortage within the private rented sector would indicate otherwise.

As we reported last month, some 46,000 properties have disappeared from the rental market so far this year.

“The housing market has retained a surprising degree of momentum given the mounting pressures on household budgets from high inflation, which has already driven consumer confidence to all-time lows,” says Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist (pictured).

“While there are tentative signs of a slowdown in activity, with a dip in the number of mortgage approvals for house purchases in June, this has yet to feed through to price growth.”

Jeremy Leaf, (pictured) north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says: “The only surprise in these figures is why it is taking so long for the slowdown we have noticed in our offices over the past few months to be reflected in the numbers.

“But don’t get me wrong – we are seeing a reduction in growth, not a major correction as prices continue to be supported by lack of choice and a strong labour market.”

View Full Article: BREAKING: House prices rise for 12th month in a row to annual rate of 11%